[T]oday sovereignty can no longer be understood absolutely; sovereignty is more a practical matter. In this sense, the transfer of certain competences of the state, which arises from the free will of the sovereign and will continue to be exercised with the sovereigns participation, in a manner that is agreed on in advance and is reviewable, is not a conceptual weakening of the sovereignty of a state, but, on the contrary, can lead to strengthening it within the joint actions of an integrated whole.

The ruling frees both houses of the Czech parliament [official backgrounder, in Czech] to consider adoption of the reform measures, although passage is unlikely in advance of the Czech Republic assuming the EU presidency in January.

Topolanek previously expressed doubt [BBC report] that his parliament would ratify the treaty even if it were found to be constitutional. Irish voters rejected [JURIST report] the treaty in a June referendum, prompting Polish President Lech Kaczynski [official website] to refuse [JURIST report] to sign, calling it "pointless." The treaty must be ratified by all 27 EU member states before it can take effect, though each country may choose the method of ratification. Earlier this week Sweden became the 24th EU state to ratify the charter [JURIST report]. Some polls suggest that Irish voters might now approve the treaty [JURIST report] in a hypothetical re-vote. In 2005, a proposed European constitution [JURIST news archive] failed when voters in France and the Netherlands [JURIST reports] rejected the proposal in national referenda.

About Paper Chase

Paper Chase is JURIST's real-time legal news service, powered by a team of 30 law student reporters and editors led by law professor Bernard Hibbitts at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. As an educational service, Paper Chase is dedicated to presenting important legal news and materials rapidly, objectively and intelligibly in an accessible format.